Polls to 5 city corporations in time: LGRD minister

DHAKA, Mar 14, 2018 (BSS) - LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain today said the elections to five city corporations will be held within the stipulated time.

"There is a legal obligation to hold the polls within 180 days after the expiration of tenure...The law would have to be changed, if we cannot hold the election," he said while exchanging views with the journalists at his Secretariat office here.

The minister said, "We have already asked the concerned divisional commissioners to see whether there are any pending cases (related to city polls)... And I think the reports will come in the next seven to eight working days."

"After getting the reports, we will ask the Election Commission (EC) to hold the election at any time of their convenience...If they want to hold the five elections at the same time, they can do it," the LGRD minister added.

About the movement of pouroshva (municipality) employees, Mosharraf said, "They (municipalities) are the self-governing bodies of the Local Government. They have their own budgets and they run their activities with their respective incomes...The government is their controller. There are many rules and regulations and it is not possible to nationalize those."